Reading the History of California Wine

This book tells the 200-year story of the heady dream that wines as good as the greatest of France could be made in California. A dream dashed four times in merciless succession until it was ultimately realized in a stunning blind tasting in Paris. In that tasting, in the year of America's bicentennial, California wines took their place as the leading wines of the world.

Here is the complete and dramatic story of the ascendancy of California wine in vivid detail. It also looks at the larger story of California itself through its singular wine history.

Crush

The Triumph of California Wine

by John Briscoe

University of Nevada Press, 2018

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Review: The Science of Enlightenment

This book is by American meditation instructor Shinzen Young, ordained in Japan as a monk in the Shingon tradition of Buddhism which attempts to reach eternal wisdom through symbolic gestures, mystical syllables, and mental concentration.

The title suggests a scientific study of meditation that reveals its inner workings and proves its benefits, but that's not what this volume is about. Young has collaborated with scientists looking at the effects of contemplative practice on brain waves and physiology, and makes mention of those studies when he describes his approach to teaching meditation as "informed by the spirit of science." But don't expect to find summaries of that research or references to peer-reviewed publications.

Instead, the author teaches the basics of meditation, explains various meditation practices, tells the history of Buddhism, relates inspirational tales, and uses scientific language to make meditative concepts more understandable and less mystical.

The Science of Enlightenment

How Meditation Works

by Shinzen Young

Sounds True, 2018

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A Guide To... Jewish Travel.

This concise, easy-to-use handbook is for the Jewish traveler, or anyone interested in Jewish history and culture. Jewish sites and resources in major metropolitan areas as well as small communities throughout the United States and Canada are featured. It includes a directory of synagogues, community centers, kosher restaurants, Judaica shops, lodgings, and Jewish establishments.

The Jewish Travel Guide: Museums, Shops, Restaurants, Landmarks, Hotels and Other Sites
by Betsy Sheldon.
Hunter Publishing, 2001

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Review: North Wild Kitchen

"My understanding of Norwegian cuisine went from an unfortunate stereotype (meat and boiled potatoes) to a world filled with berry-infused moose sausage, fermented trout, wild nettle soup, rhubarb juice made from birch sap, home-brewed beer, and traditional cheeses and porridges made on the farm," writes food blogger Nevada Berg in the introduction to this exploration of her adopted land's culinary traditions.

Norwegian cuisine has been shaped by centuries of trade and migration and has much in common with the palates of its Nordic neighbors and northern Europe, but what makes it authentic is its use of locally sourced foodstuffs and traditional methods of smoking, curing, and preserving foods in a challenging climate.

Eight chapters explore separate parts of Norway's culinary culture - foraging (Sankingen), fishing (Vann), farming (Seteren), harvesting (Innhostingen), hunting (Katen), preserving (Stabburet), outdoor cooking (Balet), and baking (Jernet, Takken, og Ovnen). Each chapter includes correspondingly traditional recipes along with newer dishes well embedded in the culture. Notes on ingredients and equipment are included along with thoughtful essays and descriptions of each dish.

North Wild Kitchen

Home Cooking from the Heart of Norway

by Nevada Berg

Prestel, 2018

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Now Exploring "Out of the Woods"

In this introspective collection of essays, Julia Corbett examines nature in our lives with all of its ironies and contradictions by integrating personal narratives with science and research.  Each essay delves into an overlooked aspect of our relationship with nature — insects, garbage, backyards, noise, open doors, animals, and language — and how we cover our tracks.

Out of the Woods leads to insights into the products, practices, and phrases we take for granted in our everyday encounters with nature and encourages us all to consider how we might re-value or re-imagine our relationships with nature in our everyday lives.

Out of the Woods

Seeing Nature in the Everyday

by Julia Corbett

University of Nevada Press, 2018

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Reading the History: Battle of the Bulge.

In the winter of 1944–1945 , Hitler sought to divide Allied forces in the heavily forested Ardennes region of Luxembourg and Belgium. He deployed more than 400,000 troops in one of the last major German offensives of the war, which became known as the Battle of the Bulge, in a desperate attempt to regain the strategic initiative in the West.

Hitler's effort failed for a variety of reasons, but many historians assert that Lieutenant General George S. Patton Jr.'s Third Army was ultimately responsible for securing Allied victory. Although Patton has assumed a larger-than-life reputation for his leadership in the years since World War II, scholars have paid little attention to his generalship in the Ardennes following the relief of Bastogne.

In this book, Captain John Nelson Rickard explores the commander's operational performance during the entire Ardennes campaign, through his "estimate of the situation," the U.S. Army's doctrinal approach to problem-solving. 

Advance and Destroy

Patton as Commander in the Bulge

by John Nelson Rickard Ph.D.

University Press of Kentucky, 2018

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Now Exploring "Elkhorn"

Driven by topophilia (love of place), former Kentucky Poet Laureate Richard Taylor focuses on the eight-mile stretch of the creek from the Forks of the Elkhorn to Knight's Bridge a few miles outside of Frankfort to provide a glimpse into the economic, social, and cultural transformation of Kentucky from wilderness to its current landscape. 

Taylor explores both the natural history of the region and the formation of the Forks community. He recounts the Elkhorn Valley's inhabitants from the earliest surveyors and settlers to artist Paul Sawyier, who memorably documented the creek in watercolors, oils, and pastels. Interspersed with photographs and illustrations ― contemporary and historic ― and intermixed with short vignettes about historical figures of the region, this book delivers a history that is by turns a vibrant and meditative personal response to the creek and its many wonders.

Elkhorn

Evolution of a Kentucky Landscape

by Richard Taylor

University Press of Kentucky, 2018

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Reading the History: Victorian Radicals

Starting with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and lasting through the dawn of the 20th century, the Victorian era's painters, writers, and designers challenged every prevailing belief about art and its purpose.

The full spectrum of the Victorian avant-garde is displayed in this book, accompanied by essays that illuminate issues the artists contended with, including the relationship to art and nature, questions of class and gender identity, the value of handmade versus machine production, and the search for beauty in an age of industry.

Characterized by attention to detail, vibrant colors, and engagement with literary themes and daily life, the paintings, works on paper, and decorative objects featured reveal the myriad ways Victorian artists and artisans made sense of a rapidly changing world.

Victorian Radicals
From the Pre-Raphaelites to the Arts & Crafts Movement
by Martin Ellis, Timothy Barringer and Victoria Osborne
Prestel, 2018

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Review: The Healing Code of Nature

The author of this book, Clemens G. Arvay, is the Austrian biologist who penned The Biophilia Effect examining the healing properties of nature, and forests in particular. This work is a sequel, reporting on the positive effects of plants and animals on the human immune system.

Arvay argues convincingly for the importance of trees in human nature. We evolved from forest-dwelling mammals, after all, and a verdant canopy of leaves is sown deeply into our genetic memory. He cites several clinical studies suggesting strong links between the presence of trees and human health.

"Our immune system is not strengthened by substances from trees," he asserts, "but it is rather weakened by the separation from these substances in modern life. Spending time in nature therefore does not lead to more defense cells; rather it brings their number and activity back to a natural level."

Separation from nature is as much a destroyer as any environmental toxin.

The Healing Code of Nature
Discovering the New Science of Eco-Psychosomatics
by Clemens G. Arvay
Sounds True, 2018

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Health & Beauty

Farm and Garden Picks: In Business with Bees

This book takes serious beekeepers past the beginning stages and learning curves and offers practical, useful advice to move your passion into a part-time or full-time career with measurable results.

It includes in-depth advice on determining what facilities are needed and how to acquire them; getting and installing the right equipment; cooperating with other local businesses; stocking inventory and managing warehouse space; finding customers; raising and selling queens, packages, and nucs; expanding pollination, including contracts to protect you; making and selling peripheral products from wax, propolis, and honey.

In Business with Bees by Kim Flottum
How to Expand, Sell, and Market Honeybee Products and Services including Pollination, Bees and Queens, Beeswax, Honey and More

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Healthy Advice for the Common Cold.

Ah-Choo! The Uncommon Life of Your Common Cold by Jennifer Ackerman.

Explains what, exactly, a cold is, how it works, and whether it's really possible to "fight one off."

Ah-Choo!

The Uncommon Life of Your Common Cold 

by Jennifer Ackerman

Twelve, 2010

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Good Guides: Cleveland's Catalog of Cool

From polka bands to popcorn balls, the more recently bumbling Browns to the thankfully no- longer- burning river, Michael Murphy shares his Cleveland. Raised in The Land, Murphy returns to see that the quirky character of his hometown is no longer mocked, but celebrated (mostly). The city, where high cuisine used to be Manners Big Boy or the Woolworth’s lunch counter, has turned into a culinary hub with multiple James Beard Award- winning chefs. There are now boating festivals and kayaking clubs on the once polluted Cuyahoga River. Cleveland has become a place that people actually intend to visit, not just get stuck in when the airport is snowed in.

This foodie guide mixes contemporary with vintage stories and profiles of essential Clevelanders, past and present, like the well- known like Jimmy Brown and Chef Michael Symon, the late Harvey Pekar, and, of course, the most quintessential of all Clevelanders, Ghoulardi.

Cleveland's Catalog of Cool

An Irreverent Guide to the 'Land

by Michael Murphy 

Countryman Press, 2018

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Good Guides: Exploring Wisconsin Trout Streams

Drawing on years of conservation and angling experience, Steve Born and Jeff Mayers tell you about great fishing opportunities unique to Wisconsin. They profile twenty streams, from the bucolic Green River in the southwest to the historic and wild Bois Brule in the north.

This new edition includes updates throughout, new photos, and a new chapter detailing improvements in fishing opportunities since the mid-1990s.

Exploring Wisconsin Trout Streams
The Angler's Guide
by Steve Born, et al
University of Wisconsin Press, 2014

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Reading the History: Ten Tea Parties

Everyone knows the story of the Boston Tea Party, in which colonists stormed three British ships and dumped 92,000 pounds of tea into Boston Harbor. But who remembers the Philadelphia Tea Party of December 1773? How about the York, Maine, Tea Party of September, 1774? Or the Wilmington, North Carolina, Tea Party of March, 1775?

Ten Tea Parties is the first book to chronicle all these uniquely American protests.

Ten Tea Parties

Patriotic Protests That History Forgot 

by Joseph Cummins 

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Now Exploring "Meet the Southwest Deserts"

An introduction to the Southwest's deserts and their life forms by Philip Welles.  Illustrated with photos by Marvin H. Frost, Sr. Published by Dale Stuart King, 1973.

Now Exploring "A Place to Which We Belong"

This anthology of nearly fifty short essays by Wisconsin writers explores a personal sense of place. Wonderfully wide-ranging yet united by a common theme, the chapters include both intimate contemplations of lakes or gardens and big-picture overviews of science, politics, and land use. Whether outdoor writers, journalists, storytellers, farmers, social commentators, spiritual leaders, scientists, or conservation activists, the contributors ask, What gives us a sense of place? What make a place worthy of protection and respect?  What binds us to places that somehow touch our minds, hearts, and souls?

A Place to Which We Belong

Wisconsin Writers on Wisconsin Landscapes

edited by Dennis Boyer and Justin Isherwood 

University of Wisconsin Press, 1998

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Reading the History: Lincoln's Final Hours

Kathryn Canavan takes a magnifying glass to the last moments of the president's life and to the impact his assassination had on a country still reeling from a bloody civil war. With vivid, thoroughly researched prose and a reporter's eye for detail, this fast-paced account not only furnishes a glimpse into John Wilkes Booth's personal and political motivations but also illuminates the stories of ordinary people whose lives were changed forever by the assassination.

Lincoln's Final Hours
Conspiracy, Terror, and the Assassination of America's Greatest President
by Kathryn Canavan

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Reading the History: Rethinking the Civil War Era.

Arguably, no event since the American Revolution has had a greater impact on US history than the Civil War. This devastating and formative conflict occupies a permanent place in the nation's psyche and continues to shape race relations, economic development, and regional politics. Naturally, an event of such significance has attracted much attention from historians, and tens of thousands of books have been published on the subject. Despite this breadth of study, new perspectives and tools are opening up fresh avenues of inquiry into this seminal era.

In this timely and thoughtful book, Paul D. Escott surveys the current state of Civil War studies and explores the latest developments in research and interpretation.

Rethinking the Civil War Era

Directions for Research 

by Paul D. Escott 

The University Press of Kentucky, 2018

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Farm and Garden Picks: Gardener's Log Book.

This waterproof log book is designed for recording work in the garden. Use this journal throughout the seasons, from building catalog wish lists early in the year, to noting the first signs of spring, to recording what vegetable crops are planted and their yield, to organizing bulb planting in fall, to, finally, putting the garden to bed for the winter.

A five year grid at the beginning of each month offers space to note annual garden cycles over time, and journal entry pages are lined for notes or graphed for diagramming plantings.

Gardener's Log Book

A 5-Year Planner

by The New York Botanical Garden

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Now Exploring "Frog Pond Philosophy"

In this wide-ranging volume, philanthropist and philosopher Strachan Donnelley (1942–2008) traces the connections between influential figures such as Aldo Leopold and Charles Darwin, as well as lesser-known but original thinkers that he met during the course of a full life―ministers at his church, friends with whom he fished, and colleagues who shared his passion for research and writing.

He grounds his work in classic philosophers such as Descartes, Spinoza, and Whitehead and reinterprets their writings about the natural world to develop a conservation-centered philosophy, which he dubs "democratic ecological citizenship."

Frog Pond Philosophy

Essays on the Relationship Between Humans and Nature

by Strachan Donnelley

University Press of Kentucky, 2018

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Now Cooking with Raising The Heat

This work provides a range of recipes from around the world which contain a variety of spices. They include: Creole crab soup, Moroccan spiced leg of lamb, Mexican squid fajitas, Lebanese avieli rice and English horseradish sauce.

Raising The Heat

Cooking with Fire and Spice

by Paul Gayler

Lyons Press, 2001

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